Pence Demands Trump Drop the Hammer on Putin

Ex-VP says Russian strongman “only understands strength” as Zelenskyy prepares White House visit

Former Vice President Mike Pence is urging President Donald Trump to turn up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin—warning that the Kremlin boss must be hit with immediate new sanctions or risk dragging the war in Ukraine into another brutal winter.

The remarks came after Trump’s high-stakes Alaska summit with Putin, where the two men discussed a possible peace framework to end the grinding conflict. Pence, appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, praised Trump’s effort to pursue peace but said Putin cannot be trusted without real consequences.

“The velvet glove is fine for diplomacy,” Pence told Jake Tapper. “But the hammer needs to come down, and it needs to come down immediately. Putin only understands strength.”

Pence urged Trump to pick up the phone and pressure Senate Majority Leader John Thune to ram through a secondary sanctions bill that enjoys wide bipartisan support. “That legislation ought to be on the president’s desk while negotiations begin,” Pence insisted. “It’s the only way we stop Putin from running out the clock until the winter fighting season.”

The former vice president pointed to history: Putin moved on Georgia under George W. Bush, annexed Crimea under Barack Obama, and invaded Ukraine after Joe Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. “He’s never hidden his desire to rebuild the old Soviet empire—the evil empire Ronald Reagan warned us about,” Pence said.

Despite Pence’s hawkish push, he gave Trump credit for keeping Ukraine on the table when, as Pence claimed, “many voices in and around the administration would have cut them loose months ago.” He also noted Trump’s string of recent foreign policy victories, including peace deals in Africa, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

Trump himself struck an optimistic tone, posting on Truth Social: “BIG PROGRESS ON RUSSIA. STAY TUNED!” He blasted the media for what he called “Fake News distortions” of the Alaska summit, writing, “If I got Russia to give up Moscow as part of the deal, the Radical Left Democrats would say I made a terrible mistake!”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to meet with Trump in the Oval Office this week, joined by leaders from the United Kingdom and Europe. Officials say the meeting could be pivotal in charting the next steps toward either a ceasefire or a broader peace deal.

Former U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff said Trump’s team is determined to avoid a “temporary pause” in fighting, aiming instead for a permanent settlement. He stressed that Trump refused Putin’s demand for Ukraine to withdraw from key territories like Donetsk and Luhansk in exchange for a partial Russian freeze.

Pence’s warning highlights the delicate balance facing Trump—pushing for peace while signaling American strength. “At the end of the day, the bad guy here is Putin,” Pence said flatly. “He launched an unprovoked invasion, and it’s time we remind him that America and her allies will not back down.”

For Republicans, the debate underscores a familiar theme: peace through strength. For Trump, the Alaska summit may prove a defining moment of his second term—either the breakthrough that ended a war or the deal that gave Putin room to regroup.